POWERBALL WINNER DICK SANDLIN CLAIMS HIS $15 MILLION PRIZE

Powerball Winner Dick Sandlin of Wilmington, North Carolina, was the proud winner of the Powerball jackpot on 4th April 2007 matching the numbers from the Powerball results of 19, 30, 39, 40, 53, and the red Powerball of 16.

To see whether any of Dick’s number are historically amongst the most successful, you can find out in our Powerball numbers statistics section.

79-YEAR-OLD POWERBALL WINNER DICK SANDLIN CAN NOW CELEBRATE

This is one of best feel good stories of Powerball winners. Dick Sandlin, a navy veteran, is 79 years old and is still working as a utility worker for North Carolina State Parks. After his decision to play Powerball and winning $15 million he can finally retire and enjoy life. Dick has decided to take the cash payout of $7.1 million which will be around $4.2 after government and federal taxes, a sensible choice given his age. Most winners choose the cash payout for example Dale Chellis and Toni Sergott who took a cash payout of $31.9 million for their win in 2007.

Dick and his wife, Colleen went to the South Carolina Lottery’s Columbia Claims Centre to claim their Powerball reward and they were presented with a dummy cheque for $15 million by the Lottery’s Chief Operating Officer, Tony Cooper. Dick Sandlin waited thirteen days before coming forward to claim his Powerball jackpot win while he consulted with his accountant and lawyer. He said, “I’m still dreaming. I guess when I wake up I’ll jump up and down.”

MOON PIES

There are many stories of Powerball winners and what they are going to do with their money, but none like this one. When Dick was asked what he was going to do with all that money, his reply was, “I’m going to buy an RC Cola and a Moon Pie.” For those of you who don’t know what a Moon Pie is, it’s a pastry made from Graham cracker biscuits with a marshmallow filling.

Dick and Colleen were on their way back from holiday in Florida when they bought their winning Powerball ticket. They bought a ticket in every state they drove through. Dick said, “We bought one in Florida, one in Georgia and when we were approaching the North Carolina line, I told my wife we needed to purchase a ticket in South Carolina.” They decided to buy their Powerball tickets in Florence, a town which is near interstate 95 and close to the North Carolina state line.

They first stopped at Iron Skillet to buy a ticket, but they only had scratch-off tickets. They then went to the Amoco Food Shop, 3 on TV Road, Florence and bought a Quick Pick. Colleen insists that the winning ticket containing the lucky Powerball numbers should have been hers as, “He (Dick) got in the line in front of me and he got my number.” Dick Sandlin said he got chatting to the lady who sold him the ticket, “I asked her, ‘Have you ever sold a winning ticket?’, she said, ‘No, we haven’t.’ I said, well, I’m going to change your luck.” Amoco Food Shop will receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Colleen told people at the press conference, “I’ll get the seven and he’ll get the .1.” The Sandlin’s celebrate their golden wedding anniversary in October and will be celebrating in style with their two daughters and two grandchildren thanks to their lucky Powerball numbers.

There have been four winning Powerball tickets sold in South Carolina, but all the winners have lived in North Carolina. Sandlin claims, “We’re just luckier.” He still plans to buy his lottery tickets in South Carolina.